Coconut Lime Macaroons for dessert...

So I went ahead and tried the Coconut Lime Macaroons and I have to say - they are not too bad!
We had a little birthday celebration with my in-laws on Monday night.
We grilled carne asada and chicken that they provided and then I had some pork chops on hand
that needed to be cooked too. We had a huge salad, grilled zucchini, roasted brussel sprouts with a bit of bacon, boiled baby gold potatoes, canary melon and quinoa.  I didn't have any potatoes or quinoa at all - wasn't even tempted.
But then it was time to serve the cake. It happened to be a little red velvet bundt cake
that we can pick up, fairly inexpensive - but yummy, at our local Staters.
THAT was a little tempting.  But I didn't give it another thought.  I got this!
My hubby on the other hand started saying he needed something sweet! Oh, no!
He's going to cave!!!  Not really.  His willpower is pretty strong too.
I thought it would be cool to surprise him with some kind of treat or dessert,
so I went with these.  They hit the spot! Sweet tooth happy!

I used this recipe here, but had to subsitute a little bit. I was going to buy some pure maple syrup the other day, but it was so expensive and we had some other needs that were more important...brussel sprouts! haha!
Tangy Lime Coconut Macaroons

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/4 cups finely shredded coconut, dried and unsweetened
• 1/2 cup Almond Flour
• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat (mine was lite and I didn't even realize it)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (I used honey)
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1-2 limes, juiced (about 2 tbsp) I used one whole lime, but it was too much. Maybe a little less lime next time. 
• Dash of sea salt

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, gently whisk coconut, almond four, lime zest, and sea salt.
• Pour in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and lime juice and mix together.
• Using a cookie scoop, drop small macaroon balls onto parchment lined baking sheet. (I had to use a spoon, but a cookie scoop would have been perfect to help with the shape)
• Bake for 35-40 minutes
• Allow macaroons to cool briefly and then transfer to refrigerator to cool for 1 hour before serving.

*Because coconut products has a melting point of 76 degrees, macaroons are best served cold.

So have you tried making any good primal/paleo desserts?  I know there are a lot out there, but it needs to be easy and not have all sorts of difficult to find ingredients.  Let me know!

Coconut Chicken aka OMGCHICKEN!

I have found that it's really important for me to pay attention to my body when it comes to food.
Since I am pretty sure that I have a food addiction, I have to be very mindful of what I am
eating, when I am eating it and why I am eating it.

You may think this sounds silly, but if you've ever tried to lose weight or cut out certain foods from your diet, you might understand.

Sometimes I will think I'm hungry, so I'll get up and start looking in the fridge or pantry... and all of a sudden, I realize - I'm not hungry at all.  I don't even know what I'm doing there in front of the fridge!!
Has that ever happened to you?  Or you see some food out and you start munchin down on it without thinking?  Like maybe after you've eaten dinner and there's left-overs or someone brought in donuts and you just migrate over like nom, nom, nom!!

Quit it already!! *Yelling at myself* haha.

So, here I am today.  Home by myself and I'm hungry.  I had 1 soft boiled egg with some deli turkey for "breakfast".  I wasn't really hungry, but knew I should get some protein in me.
So lunch just rolled around and I've been doing some work around the house.  I stop and inspect the fridge.  Hmmm...  There's some uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast from last night.  I was going to make a salad with it...

Switch it up!! Just remembered an idea I had and was excited to try it.  I recently bought some Coconut Flour and unsweetened coconut flakes.  I love coconut shrimp, but find that the sweetness of the coconut is not something I like as much.  But how about this? It's unsweetened!
So I cut the one breast into really thin slices.  I seasoned it with my favorites: sea salt, garlic, and pepper.  I beat one egg and set up a little station with my coconut flour and coconut flakes.
A little coconut oil in a hot pan?  Sure, why not!?
Dip thin cutlet in flour, then egg, then flakes.
Add to hot pan.
Only needed 2 or 3 minutes per side.  Whoops. First few pieces cooked really fast and got dark!
That's okay!!
Made a little side salad of mixed cabbage slaw (just a little bit of ranch dressing on the side) with some fresh tomato and there.  Beautiful meal.

Coconut Chicken

The chicken was SO good.  Very slight coconut flavor to the mild chicken, light crunch to the "breading" and lots of flavor from the seasoning.  I ate what was probably only half the breast and I was full.
So I STOPPED.  I could have and usually would have eaten the whole thing - after all, it's just one chicken breast - but I didn't.  That right there is progress!!

If you want to read more about coconut flour, I found a good article right here on Mark's Daily Apple.  He's got some great recipes too.

Have you tried using coconut flour or coconut products?  What's your opinion?